In hiring a new employee, employers usually state specific requirements – level of education, years of work experience, specific skills. To get the job of ruler of one of the world’s leading powers, the United States, there are only 3 requirements – that you are a natural born citizen, that you have lived here for at least 14 years, and that you be at least 35. The qualifications for Senate and Representative are variations of that, except that you don’t have to be a natural born citizen, just have held citizenship for a certain number of years.
My current low-level administrative position has more knowledge and skill-related requirements than that. While there is certainly something attractively democratic about the idea that almost anyone can run for office, it’s not good for America. The issue of evolution is a case in point, and not a trivial one.
According to a 2009 Gallup poll only 39% of Americans support evolutionary theory while 25% opposite it and 36% simply don’t take sides. Unsurprisingly, accepting evolutionary theory correlates with level of education and with church attendance (the latter is shame, because opposing evolution is bad theology, not just bad science). Rick Perry’s recent statement that Texas teaches creationism illustrates yet again that opposing evolution is viewed as a great way to coddle voters in the attempt to become President of the United States. It also illustrates his lack of knowledge about his own state, which does not teach creationism as a part of the standard curriculum, although undoubtedly it happens in some classrooms anyway (12% of classrooms across American, according to this study) .
According to the most recent U.S. DOE National Assesment of Education Progress in Science, less than half of American students reached the level of proficiency. A paltry 1% of fourth-graders, 2% of eigth-graders, and 1% of twelfth-graders performed at the advanced level. The DOE Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (2007; a 2011 study was just performed, results are not out), American 8th-graders lag behind 9 other countries, and are roughly equal to four others.
Providing a high-quality science education for American students should be a priority. We need it to be competitive in the world market, to churn out citizens who innovate and create – and thus, bring in jobs and money and a competitive global economy. Those who are opposed to evolution may have the right to that erroneous belief, but they should not have the right to derail public education and the future of America.
We simply cannot afford politicians who ignore and oppose accepted science. I don’t know how to solve this problem, when the constitutional requirements for politicians are at such a low bar. While I believe everyone should have a vote, regardless of beliefs, I do not think everyone should have the right to run the country. At the very least I think there should be a civil service exam for anyone who wants to run, showing they understand the basics of the government. And if I could wave my magic wand, we’d create a job description and list of required knowledge and skills. We’d treat the jobs of Representative, Senator and President like we are employers with performance expectations that must be met.
